Electric railway.



Pat' l i ted July 9, I901.

F. :0. ASHLEY. ELECTRIC RAILWAY. (Application filed Sept. 13, 1899.)

( No Model.)

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UNITED STATES FRANK M. ASHLEY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 677,849, dated July 9, 1901.

7 Application filed September 13, 1899. Serial N0. 730,285. No model.)

To all whom it T/uty concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK M. ASHLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the borough of Brooklyn and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Railways, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to electric railways of that class in which the conductors delivering current to the vehicle are located in a conduit built in the road-bed.

The object of the invention is to provide efficient means for insulating the conductors and a construction which can be to a large extent built in a shop, thus requiring but little labor in setting it into place in the conduit. The system involves the use of a main continuous insulated conductor and a sectional exposed conductor.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse section of the conduit. ture in which the conductors are contained. Fig. 3 is a section on line a; a: of Fig. 1. Fig. at is a perspective View of one of the supporting-brackets. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one-half of the inclosing casing or tube. Fig. 6 is a similar view of one-half of the insulating-casing. Fig. 7 is a similar view of the exposed conductor. Fig. Sis a sectional view of the contact device carried by the car and extending into the conduit.

The conduit A is provided with the usual slot a, which is preferably located near the side of the conduit to afford space on the other side for the conductors and their support. A portion a of the cover of the conduit is secured thereto by bolts a passing through a flange on the side of the conduit. This part of the coveris supported on the inside by the brackets which sustain the conductor, as will hereinafter appear. The main conduct-or is indicated by b. It is a continu- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the struc-- ing-strips are confined in a tube which is made in two parts 01 d, clamped together at the top by bolts 61 which pass through the parts of the tube and also the insulating material, thus confining them all together and securely clamping the conductor 1). Between the lower lips of the insulating-strips the working conductor a passes. This is in the form of a platewith its width arranged vertically and its lower edge having a cylindrical enlargement affording good contact for the collector on the car, and its upper edge, which is located in the space immediately below the conductor I), provided with a cradle-shaped enlargement adapted to make contact with the exposed surface of the main conductor when it is lifted for this purpose. The conductor e makes a reasonably tight sliding fit with the insulating-strips 0; but it is supported on each side by strips of leather, rubber, or other flexible non-conducting material f, whichis bolted to the conductor e and to the respective parts d d of the tube. The flexible strips permit of free vertical movement of the conductor 6 and at the same time exclude moisture from the tube 01 d. The part d of the tube has formed integrally upon it brackets d having slots 01 in which bolts 61 are fixed to support the tube in place in the conduit. For additional support the upper part of the tube is embraced by a notch in bracket g, bolted to the upper corner of the conduit immediately beneath the cover-plate. These brackets are conveniently set into place by means of bolts and slots having large and small parts to facilitate the adjustment. On top of the brackets g a slightly-elevated portion or table g is formed, upon which the cover-plate of the conduit rests. The collecting device carried by the car is merely an arm h, with a trolley-wheel it making undercontact with the conductor (2, and as it travels along said conductor it lifts it into con tact with the conductor 19, thus closing the circuit from the latter conductor to the motor on the vehicle. Upon the passage of the car conductor 6 falls either by its own weight or by the resiliency of the strips f, or both, to its normal position, as shown in Fig. 1. For the purpose of giving an easy movement to the conductor 6 the conductor is made in sections, as indicated in Fig. 2, so that the sections will be lifted and lowered successively. Having described my invention, I ciaim 1. In an electric railway, the combination of a main conductor, an insulating-sheathing formed in two longitudinal strips between which the conductor is clamped, a tubular metallic casing for said sheathing made in two parts bolted around the sheathing, a working conductor passing between the abutting flexible sealing-strips connecting the outer portion of said working conductor with the metallic sheathing,substantially as described.

3. In an electric railway, the combination of a. main conductor, an insulating-sheathing therefor and a metallic sheathing embracing the insulating-sheathing and having integrally-formed brackets by means of which the structure is supported.

4. In a conduit electric railway, the combination of the conduit and its cover, a conductor inside thereof, brackets secured to the sides of the conduit and supporting both the conductor and the cover of the conduit, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I subscribe my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK M. ASHLEY.

\Vitnesses:

WM. A. ROSENBAUM, FRANK S. OBER. 

